Economy Minister Gabriel says Bombardier won't close German plants

BERLIN, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Germany's Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Monday that no Bombardier plants in Germany will be closed after a newspaper reported the Canadian company was considering closing plants and cutting a quarter of its workforce of 8,500.

"It's not the case that the plants will be closed," Gabriel said, referring to a newspaper report by Handelsblatt business daily.

"The question at stake is how can the plants be developed further?" Gabriel said after a meeting in Berlin with company officials and state leaders from Brandenburg and Saxony.

The newspaper cited industry sources saying Bombardier Transportation is considering closing plants in Germany as part of a plan to cut more than a quarter of the German workforce of 8,500 employees.

Bombardier Inc had said in October it would cut 7,500 jobs, mostly in its train-making division, in a second round of layoffs announced last year, following extended delays and budget overruns in its aerospace business.

The plants most at risk are those in the towns of Goerlitz and Bautzen, the paper said, adding that 2,500 jobs could go in Germany. Bombardier Transportation declined to comment to the paper, saying only that no decisions had been taken yet. (Reporting by Andreas Kenner; writing by Erik Kirschbaum; Editing by Adrian Croft)